Courses

Spring 2025

The Politics of Policing

POL 340

Police are perhaps the most visible face of American government and the decisions they make have life and death consequences. This course explores major questions in the study of the politics of policing, including how controversial police tactics such as stop-and-frisk are deployed, how rules and procedures affect the nature and volume of police-civilian interactions, how police militarization affects perceptions of law enforcement and crime, and the relationship between race and police behavior.

Instructor: Jonathan Mummolo

Additional Details: The Politics of Policing

Gangsters and Troublesome Populations

SPI 392 / ANT 363 / AAS 369 / URB 363

Since the 1920s, the term "gang" has been used to describe all kinds of collectives, from groups of well-dressed mobsters to petty criminals and juvenile delinquents. In nearly a century of research the only consistency in their characterization is as internal Other from the vantage of the law. This class will investigate how the category of "the gang" serves to provoke imaginaries of racial unrest and discourses of "dangerous," threatening subjects in urban enclaves. More broadly we will examine the methods and means by which liberal democratic governments maintain their sovereign integrity through the containment of threatening populations.

Instructor: Laurence Ralph

Additional Details: Gangsters and Troublesome Populations

Criminology (Half-Term)

SOC 524

This six week course approaches the problems of crime and violence from the perspective of social scientists. Students learn about the central concepts, findings, debates and questions in the study of crime, violence, and punishment over time, moving from explanations that focus on the individual criminal toward explanations that focus on contexts and situations that make violence more likely. The course ends by studying active policy debates in the United States. Throughout, the class spends a substantial amount of time thinking about how to understand crime and violence through the collection and analysis of data.

Instructor: Patrick Sharkey

Additional Details: Criminology

Topics in Policy Analysis (Half-Term): Non-State Violence, Human Capital and Economic Development

SPI 593M

In this course, we study how individuals' lives and well-being are shaped by the presence of non-state violence and seek to identify policies to reduce it. We cover cases from the developing world from civil conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa, gender violence in South Asia, to gang wars in Latin America. We understand why violence and non-state actors may emerge in some contexts and not others and the consequences for development. We focus on policies to reduce violence and the use of innovative data to understand the causal effects of these policies.

Instructor: Maria Micaela Sviatschi

Additional Details: Topics in Policy Analysis

Policing, Civil Rights and Social Change

SPI 336

This course covers policing in the United States as it intersects with constitutional rights and racial justice. Topics include studying the history of police institutions, from slave patrols to big city police departments; the constitutional framework for policing powers, including police use of force and search and seizure powers; various theories and tactics of policing, such as Broken Windows policing and other proactive policing strategies; policing practices in the context of schools, drug enforcement and immigration enforcement; and various models of police accountability and the challenges they face.

Instructor: Udi Ofer

Details: Policing, Civil Rights and Social Change

The Criminal Legal System: Advocacy and Freedom

SPI 413

This is an experiential learning course. Students will learn about the criminal legal system broadly and in NJ specifically, while working towards the freedom of an incarcerated person. It includes skill development: advocative writing/narrative building, oral advocacy, investigative research, trauma-informed interviewing, creating supportive evidence, and cross cultural relationships. Skills are contextualized by readings and media about the criminal legal system, the factors that lead to incarceration, and decarceration tools. The course aims to educate at the intersection of subject matter expertise/context, fieldwork, and creativity.

Instructor: Maya Dimant

Details: The Criminal Legal System

Previous Courses - Fall 2024

Policing and Militarization Today

ANT 223 / AMS 223 / AAS 224 / URB 224

This class aims to explore transnational issues in policing. Drawing heavily upon anthropological methods and theory, we aim neither to vindicate nor contest the police's right to use force (whether a particular instance was a violation of law), but instead, to contribute to the understanding of force (its forms, justifications, interpretations). The innovative transnational approach to policing developed during the semester will allow for a cross-cultural comparative analysis that explores larger rubrics of policing in a comprehensive social scientific framework. We hope that you are ready to explore these exciting and urgent issues with us.

Instructor: Laurence Ralph

Details: Policing and Militarization Today

Crime and Violence in U.S. Cities

SPI 328 / URB 328

To understand American inequality, politics, history, and cities, it is necessary to understand American violence. This course is a mix of criminology, public policy, sociology, and urban history. We'll cover ideas about how to explain violence, moving from theories that focus on individuals to focus on neighborhoods, policing, guns & culture. We'll think about how to explain trends in violence, focusing on the declining violence in the 90s to the recent rise of gun violence since 2020. We'll think about ways cities can respond to violence, from street lighting to summer jobs to hot spot policing & consider the impact & consequences of each.

Instructor: Patrick Sharkey

More details: Crime and Violence in US Cities

Urban Inequality and Social Policy

SPI 537 / SOC 537

This course focuses on the causes, consequences, and responses to urban inequality. The course is organized in four parts. First, we consider how one comes to learn about and understand cities and neighborhoods. Second, we review classic and current ideas about how urbanization affects the way we live and interact with each other. Third, we assess various explanations for urban inequality. Fourth, we focus our attention on central problems and challenges of urban life, from segregation to violence, and consider policy responses.

Instructor: Patrick Sharkey

More details: Urban Inequality and Social Policy

Policy Advocacy Clinic Seminar

SPI 490

The Policy Advocacy Clinic provides a unique offering for students to learn about and participate in the policymaking process. This one-year, two semester program includes two core components: a fall semester academic seminar where students study the policymaking process and a spring semester field program where students engage in active campaigns to advance public policy. Topics will cover both the academic and practical, ranging from studying public policy theories and structures to developing the skills needed to engage in policy analysis, campaign planning, power-mapping, and the legislative process. This course is by application only. Click the "More information" link below for details.

Instructor: Udi Ofer

More information on Policy Advocacy Clinic (2023-24)

Negotiations and Conflict Resolution

SPI 430

This course offers an experiential examination of conflict resolution theory and practice including negotiation, mediation, and restorative justice. It will focus on an analysis of the impact of emotion, power, culture and other factors on conflict escalation, de-escalation and resolution. Students will learn skills through interactive exercises and simulations.

Instructor: Maya Dimant

More details: Negotiations and Conflict Resolution 

Carceral Politics and Intimacy Across Central America

LAS 384 / ANT 284

Central America resurfaced with El Salvador's war on gangs, arresting over 75,000 people in the past two years. This course will examine the history and politics of carceral logics around crime and race in Central America through an intersectional and ethnographic perspective. Starting with a historical excavation, we'll focus on Central America's war on gangs from a transnational perspective, including the role of the U.S. in the making of a "gang crisis", and we will examine the policing of black and indigenous populations. Throughout the course, we will discuss how carceral politics shape forms of intimacy, especially in the family realm.

Instructor: Grazzia Grimaldi

More information on Carceral Politics and Intimacy Across Central America 

Previous Courses - Spring 2024

Topics in Domestic Policy: Policing, Militarization, and Policy

SPI528G

This class aims to explore transnational issues in policing. Drawing heavily upon anthropological methods and theory, we aim neither to vindicate nor contest the police's right to use force (whether a particular instance was a violation of law), but instead, to contribute to the understanding of force (its forms, justifications, interpretations). The innovative transnational approach to policing developed during the semester allows for a cross-cultural comparative analysis that explores larger rubrics of policing in a comprehensive social scientific framework.

Instructor: Laurence Ralph

Details: Topics in Domestic Policy

Gangsters and Troublesome Populations

ANT 363 / AAS 369 / URB 363

Since the 1920s, the term "gang" has been used to describe all kinds of collectives, from groups of well-dressed mobsters to petty criminals and juvenile delinquents. In nearly a century of research the only consistency in their characterization is as internal Other from the vantage of the law. This class will investigate how the category of "the gang" serves to provoke imaginaries of racial unrest and discourses of "dangerous," threatening subjects in urban enclaves. More broadly we will examine the methods and means by which liberal democratic governments maintain their sovereign integrity through the containment of threatening populations.

Instructor: Laurence Ralph

Details: Gangsters and Troublesome Populations

Policing, Civil Rights and Social Change

SPI 336

This course covers policing in the United States as it intersects with constitutional rights and racial justice. Topics will include studying the history of police institutions, from slave patrols and night watches to big city police departments; the constitutional framework for policing powers; various theories and tactics of policing, such as broken windows policing; policing practices in the context of schools, drug enforcement and immigration enforcement; and the rise of social movements seeking to change police's role in society, such as the Black Lives Matter movement.

Instructor: Udi Ofer

Details: Policing, Civil Rights and Social Change

Advanced Seminar in American Studies: Race and the Medicalization of Violence in America

AMS 404 / ANT 414 / AAS 405

This class seeks to critically analyze the intersections of race, violence, and medicine in the United States. Through an interdisciplinary lens, students will examine historical and contemporary case studies to understand how violence has been medicalized, and how race plays a significant role in these processes. Discussions will also encompass slavery, structural violence, police violence, public health approaches to violence, and the role of healthcare professionals in addressing racial disparities in the experience and treatment of violence in African American, Latinx, Asian American and Indigenous contexts.

Instructor: Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús

Details: Advanced Seminar in American Studies

Making an Exoneree

SPI 499

In this intensive seminar, Princeton students have the opportunity to contribute to the exoneration of wrongfully convicted people. A select group of dedicated students will spend the semester as investigators, documentarians, and social justice advocates. The goal is to create a public documentary, website, and social media campaign that makes the case for the innocence of a wrongfully convicted person who is currently languishing in prison and deserves to be free.

Instructor: Maya Dimant

Details: Making an Exoneree